Hilary Kearney of Girl Next Door Honey: From Avocation To Vocation; How I Turned My Hobby Into A Career

As a part of our series about entrepreneurs who transformed something they did for fun into a full-time career, I had the pleasure of interviewing Hilary Kearney.

Hilary Kearney is the author of two books on bees: Queenspotting and The Little Book of Bees. She founded Girl Next Door Honey in 2012 in her home town of San Diego, California after graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Fine Art. Breaking from tradition, she developed a beekeeping business that does not rely on honey sales or pollination services for economic success. Instead, Girl Next Door Honey focuses on bee-centric programs such as natural beekeeping classes, apiary management, classroom presentations, beehive tours, live bee removal and more.

Hilary has teamed up with Comvita, the global leader in Mānuka Honey, for the third year of its bee rescue program, partnering with beekeepers and rescuers to relocate at-risk beehives set to be terminated, and saving 40 million bees in honor of World Bee Month. Comvita is working with independent beekeeper partners across the U.S. to provide the resources they need to safely relocate hives, placing them in areas where they can thrive to ultimately save bee populations all over the country.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

When I was in college, I bought a beekeeping book for my boyfriend (now husband) because he expressed a casual interest in it. Before I gave it to him, I decided to read it to make sure it was good, and I just got hooked on bees. I find them so fascinating. I never intended to start a business, but my passion and curiosity about bees just kind of led me there.

What was the catalyst from transforming your hobby or something you love into a business? Can you share the story of your “ah ha” moment with us?

A local garden group asked me to teach an Intro to Beekeeping class for their members. I offered the class for free and had so many people interested there was a waitlist, but on the day of the class, only 4 people showed up. I realized, then, that it wasn’t greedy to charge for my time and knowledge and that in fact, I needed to charge people to get them to take me seriously and show up.

There are no shortages of good ideas out there, but people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How did you overcome this challenge?

I think you have to fake it ’til you make it and really put yourself out there as if you are a legitimate business even if you feel like you are not. The first thing I did was come up with a business name and design a honey label. That was a good way to start, but it wasn’t until I launched a website that people started to treat me as if I had a real business.

What advice would you give someone who has a hobby or pastime that they absolutely love but is reluctant to do it for a living?

Not every hobby can become a thriving business. I would start by looking at whether there is a demand for what you do. When people found out I was a beekeeper, they started asking me for things. Not just honey, but classes on how they could become beekeepers, kids’ workshops, and swarm rescues. Now all of those requests are different revenue streams for my business.

It’s said that the quickest way to take the fun out of doing something is to do it for a living. How do you keep from changing something you love into something you dread? How do you keep it fresh and enjoyable?

For me it’s the variety of different bee related things I offer. When I am tired of doing bee rescues, I just schedule less of them and switch to doing more classes or mentoring. I give myself a lot of flexibility.

What is it that you enjoy most about running your own business? What are the downsides of running your own business? Can you share what you did to overcome these drawbacks?

I love the freedom that comes with running my own business and being able to set my own schedule, but the downside is you can never truly have time off. There is so much to do all the time. I work a lot and it’s difficult to go on vacation because no one can really replace me. The only way to escape the demands is by turning off my phone!

Can you share what was the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

When I pictured running my own business, I thought of all the fun parts. The freedom, the time spent with bees, and doing what I love. I did not think about the business side of it. The number crunching, emails, customer service, taxes, and boring stuff that also comes with running a business.

Has there ever been a moment when you thought to yourself “I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to get a “real” job? If so, how did you overcome it?

No way! All I ever think is how I can never go back to a normal job.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My business name means that my website is unfortunately close to some other websites with inappropriate content. Once I accidentally emailed a new customer and gave him a link to one of these X-rated sites by mistake instead of my own. It was mortifying! Luckily, he thought it was hilarious and still hired me. If he had reacted badly and not hired me, I may have felt bad, but I have learned that not everyone is your customer. Who wants to deal with someone with no sense of humor?

Who has inspired or continues to inspire you to be a great leader? Why?

My husband. He is so supportive and always lifts me up.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I hope that I have changed a lot of people’s perspectives about bees and hopefully that has translated to real action. I often get messages from people who used to fear bees and now love them, so, that is wonderful to hear.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

• Get a business mentor. I did not work with a mentor until I had already been doing my business for many years. It was a game-changer to have her support and advice.
• Make a website. Before I had a website, people would often argue with me over my prices. After I got a website, I stated my rates clearly and it mostly stopped.
• Your business must evolve. Be ready to make changes. When I first started, I thought I would make money by selling honey. I quickly realized weather and health problems can make for inconsistent honey harvests, so I pivoted my business and focused on education instead.
• Look at the numbers. Take note of what parts of your business actually make money and what parts do not. Shift your time to where the money is and let go of the things that don’t produce a profit.
• Ask yourself what you most enjoy about your business and try to shape it around that. I love sharing my passion for bees with people and I try to incorporate that into everything I do.

What person wouldn’t want to work doing something they absolutely love. You are an incredible inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I wish I could inspire people to become activists for bees and get legislation passed to ban pesticides from consumer use. They should be limited to agriculture and applied with regulations by trained people.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Leap and the net shall appear.” Someone said this to me when I was first starting my business and I repeat it often. All the best things in life are scary and involve risk, but you must try it to know!

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Ru Paul! I just think he’s so smart and savvy and gives the best advice. I really admire him and what he has done with his career.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.

Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.

While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.